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Re: Sound natural?

Oh! Lynque, It's so kind of you. I am so grateful to you for taking out some of your very precious time out for me, and helping me. Many many many many many many many thanks for giving me a hand.

I have two more perplexities. Could you please clarify them as well?

2. OK. Thanks a lot. Could you please tell me which one of the following sounds more natural to you. And please also tell me if there are any grammar mistakes.

Itís quite unclear from the poem. They might be some questions regarding genaral problems of life.

OR?

We have no way of knowing the questions that were perplexing him. They might be regarding some genaral problems of life.

OR?

The poem doesnít address the questions. However they might be regarding some general problems of life.

3. OK. You mean my answer is wrong, and I should write " The questions are not anwsered; rather, the poet has only been diverted from thinking about them by the sight and sound of the children at play.

Re: Sound natural?

hi asad. Try 'The poem does not address the questions. However, they may relate to some of life's general problems'. But I would like to throw you one possible scenario. The poet was a fair distance away when he heard noises he could not decipher. As he came nearer to the children, he recognised the sounds of children playing. That somewhat cleared his doubts of what were those noises and where they came from (Questions). The answer for Qn 3 would be : when he clearly identified the sounds of children playing... have a good weekend..

Re: Sound natural?

Originally Posted by sploke

hi asad. Try 'The poem does not address the questions. However, they may relate to some of life's general problems'. But I would like to throw you one possible scenario. The poet was a fair distance away when he heard noises he could not decipher. As he came nearer to the children, he recognised the sounds of children playing. That somewhat cleared his doubts of what were those noises and where they came from (Questions). The answer for Qn 3 would be : when he clearly identified the sounds of children playing... have a good weekend..

Dear Sploke,
Many thanks for giving me a hand. It's so nice of you. I am so grateful to you.

I am sorry to say that I am still up the creek with no. 3. It's "how" (i.e. How have the questions been answered?). But you have used "when" (an adverb of place). Second, the question is in the present perfect, but your answer is in the past. Could you please please clarify it to me?

Re: Sound natural?

hi asad. How have the questions been answered? In other words, in what manner has the questions been answered? We can then say, 'The questions have been answered when he .........." I hope this clears things up for you. In general, answers need not follow the same tense as the question as long as it makes sense. rgds

Re: Sound natural?

Originally Posted by asad hussain

...

The questions have been answered when he clearly identified the sounds of (the) children playing. Don't I need to use 'the' here?

The 'the' makes the sentence apply to a specific instance; but in Sploke's example, the poet hear the sound of children playing [he or she knew they were children, but didn't know their names]. A mother, in the kitchen, might 'hear the sound of the children playing in the garden' (a father too, for that matter ), but someone in an office (it had better be a woman in an executive suite !) would find it impossible to think because of 'the sound of children playing nearby'.